A New Start
by Chrysalis95
Summary: The story takes place after the Grand Magic Games arc. Fairy Tail has reclaimed their #1 guild title and is enjoying their victory. But dark things are beginning to move and new plots are beginning to come to light. The Rogue from the future said that Acnologia would come in a year. How will the gang prepare to face this new menace?
1. Chapter 1

A New Start

Summary: The story takes place after the Grand Magic Games arc. Fairy Tail has reclaimed their #1 guild title and is enjoying their victory. But dark things are beginning to move and new plots are beginning to come to light. The Rogue from the future said that Acnologia would come in a year. How will the gang prepare to face this new menace?

Disclaimer: Anything that is Fairy Tail belongs to Mashima Hiro only.

Chapter 1: Relaxation

**_Lucy_**

Lucy leaned back in her chair and stretched her arms over her head. She was sitting at her desk, trying to work past her writer's block. The latest page of her novel lay in front of her, half-finished, as it had been for the last two hours.

Exasperated, she pushed the page away, and then let her head fall on the desk with a heavy _thump_! The inspiration just wouldn't come. Everyone in the guild was busy with the job requests that were flooding in. Erza was gone every day it seemed, and Gray, Natsu, and Happy only had time to stop by to say hi. Though it was more like her dropping in on them, as they were usually at her house before her.

Natsu had insisted that she come with him on his jobs, but she told him that after all the fuss with the dragons during the Grand Magic Games she just wanted to sit at home and relax.

_"What? Why? Come on, there's this monster that can kill you with poison breath and has teeth like two feet long and even longer horns and we're supposed to go beat it! It'll be fun!" He grinned at Lucy like a kid asking for Christmas present._

_"NO WAY!" Lucy threw her dictionary at him. "I told you, I want to be somewhere peaceful right now! And that's definitely not gonna happen if I'm chasing monsters with you! Now for god's sake, STOP BREAKING INTO MY ROOM!"_

After a little more arguing, and after having a couple more books thrown at him, Natsu and Happy fled out the window.

And now that she was finally alone and everything was quiet, Lucy found that maybe she was ready for a little more noise and adventure than she thought.

Ah, well. There was nothing she could do about it now.

**_Gray_**

Gray stood at the station, waiting for his train to arrive. He had just come off a job where he had to find the thieves who had stolen a precious heirloom from some rich family and return the heirloom in one piece along with bringing the thieves into custody.

It had turned out to be a very boring job. He found out that it was some niece of some cousin of the rich family and that the young 5-year-old had no clue as to what 3 million J really meant.

A chill ran up his spine. Not an actual chill. Gray never really got cold anymore. It was the kind of chill that meant someone was watching you.

Actually, it felt like a lot of people were watching him. He turned around to see at least six or seven people gawking at him, their eyes wide. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, he looked down at himself.

"Crap!" There was his shoulder bag and his light blue boxers, but that was all there was. He started frantically looking for his clothes, which they always seemed to disappear as soon as he stripped.

Right then, the train came. With a dozen more "Crap!" phrases, he just gave up and decided to get on the train.

As quickly as he could, he tried to find a private boxcar. Looking around, he thought he saw one. He grabbed the door, ripped it open, and shut it behind him. He turned around -

- And there was a woman stretched out on one side of the seats.

Immediately, Gray started sputtering, "W-wait, this isn't what it looks like - I just - I -" Gray tried to find some excuse as for why he burst into this woman's boxcar in nothing but his underwear. The last thing he needed was to get arrested because some lady thought he was trying to violate her.

"H-hold on - I can explain this -"

"Sit down and shut up, boy"

The order came so suddenly that Gray immediately did what she said.

She turned to look at him. Her hair was black, with a few grey roots showing. She was wearing jeans with black knee-high boots and a white button-up shirt. Her face had a few lines in it. Gray guessed her age to be around 40.

"What's your story?" she asked.

Gray answered in the most straightforward way he knew. "I lost my clothes."

She snorted. "What, did some bastard cheat you out of your stuff in strip poker or what?"

"Not quite…"

"Never mind, it doesn't matter kid." Then she looked at him straight in the eye and said, "But if I were you, I'd start hanging on to your clothes and whatever else you can grab, cause things are about to get a little bumpy."

"What do you mean?"

Then, right before his eyes, the woman's eyes changed from green to a burning gold and her pupils turned into slits.

Just like Natsu's and any other Dragon Slayer's eyes did…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Team Natsu is Back!

Disclaimer: I own nothing in the realm of Fairy Tail, thank goodness. I would probably botch the story up.

**_Natsu (A few hours later)_**

"WE'RE HOME!" The pink-haired Salamander busted the door open. Everyone in the Fairy Tail guild hall looked up at him. They all said a half-hearted "Hey", or "Hi."

Happy flew past Natsu's shoulder and looked at everyone. "What's wrong, everybody?" he asked, picking up on the serious mood right away.

"I don't know what's eatin' everybody", Natsu cheerfully went on, "but I just had the most fun job in a long time! Hey, Happy! We should go find Lucy and tell her all about it and rub her face in it!"

"I don't think that would work with her…"

"This is no laughing matter, you two!" The Master barked from his usual place on the bar counter.

"What is the matter, Master?"

Natsu and Happy nearly jumped out of their skins. The question had come from none other than the red-haired Titania, who had just appeared behind them.

"DON"T DO THAT!" NAtsu felt a little irritated that Erza somehow got the drop on him.

"I have not done anything. Stop being stupid, Natsu", Erza commanded.

Natsu stomped his foot on the ground and was about to challenge Erza when the Master said, "There's been trouble on one of the railroad lines. An entire train was derailed just about an hour ago."

"What?" Natsu and Erza said at the same time.

"Yes, and the train was heading here. Gray was on it."

"WHAT?!"

"Is he alright?" Erza asked immediately.

"From what I've heard, yes. Just a few scrapes and bruises. He should be on his way back right now, as a matter of fact."

"That's good." Erza sighed in relief.

"However-" The Master tried to continue.

"Hold on!" Natsu waved his arms furiously "Are you saying Gray was in a train crash?"

"Yes, you idiot! Now be quiet!" The Master yelled. He cleared his throat and went on a little more loudly. "However, there were people who were more seriously hurt. And it appears that wizards were involved, so the magic council is concerned."

"And they want us to investigate", Erza said.

"That is correct. After Gray gets here and tells us everything, I want you two, Lucy, Gray, and whoever else wants to go with you to go back to the crash and investigate", the Master said.

"What? Do I really have to work with that jerk Gray again?" Natsu asked.

"You will if I make you!" Erza re-quiped a sword. Her eyes flashed with rage.

"Yeargh!"

"There they go again…" Everyone sighed.

**_Lucy (At about the same time)_**

Lucy was walking along the bridge with Plue, walking on the edge with no fear of falling into the canal beside her. It was hard to tell what Plue felt about it, since all he did was shiver anyways.

She had gone out for a walk to clear her head. Her writer's block still refused to budge and just sitting there had done nothing but frustrate her. So she gladly packed up the story and decided that a nice long walk around Magnolia would bring her some relief.

But now she was a little anxious going back home. She was sure that Natsu had found some new place to jump out at her from. Man, that guy could really be a pain!

Of course, it could be Gray who snuck into her house, sitting in her nice armchair with nothing but his underwear on again.

Or worse, it could be Erza. There was just no getting around Erza. Lucy couldn't shoo her off like she could with Gray or Natsu.

Or maybe this time it would be Mirajane, or Laxus, or even the Master…

"Lucy."

"Yikes!" Lucy turned to look at who called her.

It was Gray. Fully-clothed.

Lucy took a second look at him now that she knew it was safe. "Gray, what happened?" The left side of Gray's face was practically smothered in bandages. The other side had a nasty bruise spread all across his cheek.

"A lot happened, actually. I'm supposed to go tell Gramps about it. Do you mind walking back with me to the guild? He's probably going to have us look into it, so you might as well come."

Lucy nodded. Her head was already spinning. What had Gray gotten into? Did he stumble across a thieves' den, or a smuggler ring? Or did he get involved in a nasty mugging? Was he in trouble with the law?

Wait a second…

"Where were all these ideas when I needed them", she mumbled.

"What was that?" Gray asked.

"Oh, nothing. It was nothing", Lucy said, embarrassed that she had been caught talking to herself.

"Oh, okay then."

When they finally made it to the guild, they could hear something going on in there.

"Do we really want to go in there?" Lucy wasn't so sure going home to her not-so-private house wasn't such a bad idea after all.

"I have to go in and see Gramps." Gray walked and went to the door…

And walked into the back of Natsu's head.

They both flew backwards. Lucy barely got out of the way.

Both Natsu and Gray leapt up at the same time.

"You slanty-eyed fire-eater!"

"You droopy-eyed pervert!"

"Why'd you run into me?!"

"That's my line!"

"There they go again…" Lucy sighed. She could already feel her stress coming back as Natsu and Gray threw fists and cheap comebacks at each other.

"Gray, I thought you had to go see the Master", Lucy said.

Gray paused. "Oh yeah."

"He really forgot?" Lucy mumbled to herself again.

"Hold on, Natsu! I have to talk to Gramps!" Gray backed away, looking urgent.

"What!?" Natsu, who would accept nothing more than a well-earned victory, would not accept Gray backing down. "You trying to wimp out on me?"

"It's important!"

Natsu fumed. "Fine!" He stomped back into the guild.

Gray looked at Lucy and said, "Come on." They both walked into the guild hall.

**_Erza_**

When she had heard the noise outside, she knew Gray had arrived. And she was right. Shortly after Natsu trudged in, Gray walked in with Lucy right behind him.

"I'm here, Master", Gray called out to him. Gray looked a little roughed up. But he walked like he was okay. One less thing to worry about.

"Good. Now, tell me everything."

Gray went up to the Master. Both Lucy and Erza followed him.

The more and more Gray explained the events, the more and more Erza couldn't believe what she was hearing. Lucy was quiet as a mouse, wide-eyed. Her little white…thing was slowly being squeezed in her arms.

"That sounds like trouble. You may need to head out right away." The Master eyeballed Gray "Are you up to it?"

"Definitely." Gray smiled.

"Then let's go", she said, ready to get this over with. It certainly did sound like trouble. "Come on, Natsu. We've got a job to do."

"What, really? Awesome! I'm ready for another one." He bounded over, Happy right behind him.

"There goes my relaxation time…" Lucy already looked worn out.

Erza was about to lend a word of comfort when she noticed Gray looking at her. She looked back. She should ask him if he's okay. She really should. But for some reason, she stalled. Then Gray looked away.

_I'm still not very good at this_, she thought to herself. Still, there would be plenty of time on their trip to talk to Gray.

"Let's get going!" Natsu yelled.

"Aye, sir!" Happy followed up.

Erza gave a little smile. There were times when she really felt as though nothing could stop them when they got together like this.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Train Wreck

Disclaimer: I no own Fairy Tail.

**_Lucy_**

"So what exactly happened to you?" Natsu and everyone else stood at Magnolia's train station, waiting for their train to arrive. It would be awhile before they got to the actual wreck. They still had to go past two other stations before they had to take carriage to the wreck.

"Weren't you listening earlier?" Lucy glared at Natsu.

"No. Why would I be listening to that loser?"

"Hey! You better not be talking about me, you pink-haired, squinty-eyed flame eater!"

"You bet I am, you droopy-eyed skinny-dipper!"

"I don't skinny-dip!"

"You wanna go!?"

"Yeah!"

Soon enough, those two were at each other's throats once again, snarling at each other and shouting lame insults.

_Didn't we just go through this a little while ago at the guild hall? Sheesh, these guys just don't quit. _And soon enough with Gray and Natsu going at it, Erza would be...

"That's enough, you two!"

Yep. There she was.

In a few short seconds, Erza had both the boys on their rears and had given each of them a new lump on their heads. "Now Gray, will you fill Natsu in."

"Y-yes, ma'am", Gray stuttered. He stood up and sighed.

"Well, it went something like this..."

**_Gray (A few hours earlier)_**

The woman stared at him with those eyes, gauging his reaction. He didn't know what she saw. Confusion? Disbelief, maybe?

"Umm...Just who are you anyway?" That was a always a good start.

The woman blinked and her eyes turned back to normal. She laughed and said, "I'm just an old woman on her way to see two young boys she once knew."

"Ooooookaay...?"

"And what about you? I see your from Fairy Tail." She pointed at his crest on his bare chest.

"Oh, yeah. I'm Gray Fullbuster of Fairy Tail."

"Ah." She grinned. "One of those boys I just mentioned used to talk about Fairy Tail all the time. You almost think he would've joined you guys. Such a cutie, he was, but he is the most confusing and misleading..."

The woman kept rambling on and on about her "little cutie" when Gray had to interrupt her. "Excuse me miss, but what did you mean?"

"Huh? About his sleep-talking? Well, you see..."

"No, earlier, when you said to grab everything and hang on. You made it sound like something was coming."

"Oh, that. Well, that is urgent." The woman said it so flippantly, someone would think she was talking about a cloud in the sky.

"Well?" Gray leaned forward.

"Well. Something is coming and it's big. Earth-shattering big. So if I were you, I would get all your fairy friends and high-tail it out of Fiore, or for the whole continent for that matter."

"Why? What's coming?"

"Not sure what it is exactly, but it involves the Balam Alliance, Zeref, and even Acno - " The woman stopped mid-word and tensed. "That scent!"

"What scent", Gray asked frantically, "What's are you talking about? Are you a Dragon - "

"We're out of time, kid!" Hang on!" The woman bolted out of her seat and flung the window open.

"What do you mean? Why are you - Hey, why are you grabbing me?"

"Three words, kid." The woman's eyes glinted mischievously and she flashed a wicked smile. "TUCK AND ROLL!"

Next thing he knew, he was tossed out of the train - still wearing nothing but underwear. He hit the ground hard and it took quite a few rolls before he slowed to a stop. With the world still spinning around him, even though he came to a stop, he looked toward the train, whichwas speeding away without him. Then...

BA-KOOM!

The heat and the shockwave of the explosion hit him before he knew what happened. With a terrible grinding noise, the train wobbled for half a second and then it began to tip over every-which-way. He watched the train crumple and wrinkle in a sort of stupor.

Then, there was another explosion and another. Gray stood up and began running, worried about all the people inside. And that woman...

**_Back to the Present_**

"...So I helped get some people out and waited with everyone else for the authorities. That lady just disappeared though. I didn't find her anywhere."

"That's weird. I never heard of any older Dragon Slayers before", Natsu said, "I wonder what she eats."

"Maybe she eats fish!" Happy jumped up and down.

"If this woman had information on the Balam Alliance", Erza interjected, "It would make sense that she was the one whole reason for the attack on the train."

"That's what I thought", Gray said.

"It's too bad you didn't get her name" Lucy mentioned, "do you think whoever it was caught her?"

"I get the feeling that they didn't. She's probably off to see those boys she mentioned, wherever that is..."

**_Sting_**

Sting stood in front of the request board.

"Still can't decide?" Lector asked.

"Nah." Sting ran his gloved hand through his spiky blonde hair.

"Get Rogue to pick one."

"He says he's tired of me making him pick one." Sting remembered the death-glare he got from Rogue about half an hour ago.

"Well, then, close your eyes and pick one at random."

"Yeah, okay."

Lector's idea seemed like a good thing, but he tried it three times and ended up with lame jobs. He was on his fourth try when he heard Rogue walk up behind him.

"Stuck again?" Sting could hear the amusement in his friend's voice.

"No", Sting said defensively, "I'm making a decision. Damn it!" He glared at the fourth job request. "I got another bad one! Screw it, I'll just pick the one with the highest reward!"

"You could've done that in the first place", Rogue mentioned.

"Fro thinks so, too." The blissful Exceed sat on Rogue's shoulder the usual carefree expression he always had on.

"I know, I know. So, it looks like we're heading to a little town not too far from here."

Rogue smiled softly. "Let's get going then."

**_Ten Minutes Later_**

"Alright, we set to go?" Sting stretched his arms out, warming his muscles up. Rogue, Lector and Frosch stood with him at the entrance to the guild. "Rufus, Orga, take care of things while we're away. Oh and tell Yukino when she gets back that that Arcadios guy left her a message."

"And don't break anything, okay?" Lector called back to them.

"What, no party?" A voice called out from behind them.

Sting whirled around, a rush of nostalgia coming up. _I know that voice!_

"It's you!" Frosch and Lector yelled at the same time.

"Auntie", Rogue gasped.

"Hey, kids! I'm back!" The woman flipped back her long black hair. With a crooked smile, she walked into the guild hall and up to Sting and Rogue.

"Auntie Lillian." Sting couldn't stop smiling. It had been years since he'd seen her.

Rufus and Orga ran up to them. "Lillian! What a pleasure this is."

"Yeah. It's been forever."

"Yeah, sorry about that. But, you know, it was a little...difficult to come back."Lillian absentmindedly waved her hand around at the guild hall.

"Yeah", Sting said, "Yeah, I know..."

_You will never step foot in this guild again!_

"Master Jiemma was pretty harsh", Rogue said, "Is that what brought you here? Him being gone?"

"Yes", Lillian's smile got even more crooked, "That, and a train wreck."

"What?" They all said.

She laughed. "It's nothing. Let's all sit down first and catch up. I don't feel like getting all serious just yet. I got a lot to tell you boys, but I'd rather hear what you got to say first."

Rogue and Sting looked at each other. "I think the job can wait", Sting said.

"It sure can", Rogue agreed.

With that, Sting threw the paper over his shoulder and went to sit down.

**_Lucy_**

"Wow", she gasped.

"You said it was bad, but this really is awful", Erza mumbled.

"Be glad you didn't see it when it happened. I think I might get nightmares from that", Gray said.

"Hah! You'd get nightmares from a train wreck? That's more like a happy dream to me!" Natsu said jokingly.

"Shut up!"

"Make me!"

"Don't you two start again!" Lucy yelled at them "The situation here is too serious for that stuff right now!"

"Lucy's right you, too. Knock it off." Erza looked around. "I'll go find someone from the army and figure out what they know. The rest of you look around here and see if you can find any trace of who did this." She walked away.

"I hope she doesn't ask them like she did that one time at the Oshibana Station", Lucy muttered. She turned around and looked at the wreck. "Not to mention the fact that it might be impossible to find anything in _that_."

The wreck was really bad. Where there had been wood there was nothing but ashes and a few beams left. The metal in the train was jagged and warped, not to mention charred where the explosions had happened. Some parts of the train were still smoking. Lucy could see a few stretchers lying around, although all the people had been cleared out some time ago. Overall the train looked like a giant metal pipe that had been twisted at every possible angle.

"Well, I don't feel like getting in any more trouble with Erza, so I'm going to go look." Gray walked towards the wreck.

Lucy and Natsu weren't far behind him. After all, the idea of an angry Erza coming after them was enough to motivate anyone.

**Author's Note: Hello, readers! I'm SOOOOOO sorry that it took so long to update! But now I have finished the new chapter. As you've seen by now, I'm going to be bringing Sabertooth in, though it' mostly going to be just Sting, Rogue, their Exceeds, and the mysterious Lillian. And for those of you looking for romance, I'll be slowly bringing that into the story, so please just be patient! Read, review, and thank you so much for following this story!**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: OH THE AGONY! FAIRY TAIL IS NOT MINE! All rights go to Mashima Hiro.

Chapter 4: Running Out Of Time

**_Gray (The Next Day)_**

Everyone was standing at the bar, where the miniscule Master was sitting. Mirajane stood behind the bar, wiping a glass clean with a worried look on her face. He watched Erza telling Gramps just how they found jack-diddly-squat.

"There were no traces left behind? Not by anyone?" Gramps lifted an eyebrow.

"I'm afraid not. There was nothing physical or magical that was left behind that could point us in any direction. There was nothing but the wreck." Erza's brown eyes were darker than usual. He knew that this unsettled her quite a bit.

It unsettled him a lot. It was certainly something to be worried about when someone could just cause as much destruction as they did and then just disappear. It meant that they could do it again.

"The Magic Council is not going to be happy about this...", Gramps muttered, "Ah, well. I'll just send them my report."

"Forgive me, Master", Erza's fists clenched.

_She always worries too much. She needs to relax a little bit. _Gray would say that to her out loud, but he didn't feel like getting cleaved in half.

Somewhere in the background, he could hear Natsu and Lucy arguing about something.

"...don't want to take a job like that..."

"...easy...I need rent..."

"...always do..."

Gray focused back on Erza and Gramps, though he was smiling now. _Those two just need to get it over with already_.

He would never say that out loud either, because he would get one hell of a kick from Lucy.

"In all likelihood, the Council will send another guild who's more suited to rooting out funny business like this." Gramps rubbed his chin, "Perhaps Blue Pegasus' Hibiki can dig something up."

Erza bowed low. "I'm sorry, Master."

"It's nothing to be worried about, child. The criminals will be caught."

"Too bad", he heard Natsu saying, "We didn't get to fight with anyone."

"Is that all you think about", Lucy asked. "Ugh, fine! I'll go by myself!" Gray turned around just in time to see Lucy furiously stomp out of the guild hall, leaving an open-mouthed Natsu to gape at her. He turned around to look at Gray. "What did I do?"

"I don't know", he answered while shrugging. Sometimes Lucy's mood swings were beyond his understanding.

"Damn it! Hey, Lucy, _wait_", Natsu hollered. He ran out the door with Happy fluttering right behind him. Gray sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. _I need something to drink right now_. But more than that, he needed rest. He hadn't really taken a break since the train wreck. He had only slept for about half an hour last night and his nerves were shot. A quick beer and a long nap sounded really good right now.

**_Lillian_**

She stood in the middle of the Sabertooth guild hall, taking in the scene. Orga was sitting on a stool, talking to Frosch about why he liked frogs, to which the Exceed answered, "Because I was one!" She didn't really understand what he meant by "was", but Frosch is Frosch. Rufus was sitting in an armchair that he obviously put there himself. The red and yellow monstrosity stuck out like a sore thumb. Sting was lazing around somewhere in the building, probably doing his best to ignore the ever-increasing pile of paperwork that he had to do. Rogue was chatting with the white-haired girl, Yukino.

That one was a new one to her. The Celestial Spirit wizard hadn't been around the last time she was here. Rogue had told her that Yukino was already a decent wizard and that she had a lot of potential for getting stronger. He also told her that she was a good person and a devoted member of Sabertooth.

Judging from her warm brown eyes and her soft smile, she would have to agree. Though her politeness rubbed her the wrong way, like most people's usually did. Lillian would rather have someone hit her in the face than keep addressing her with "-san." The poor girl nearly cried when she told her as much, and before she knew it, Lillian had to spend the next hour consoling her.

After that, Rogue bought everyone sweets, and they were all friends. Sort of.

_Home_. It wasn't just a word or a place. It was a feeling. And she felt it here, right in this hall. She could feel it calling to her the minute she walked out the door, when Jiemma practically chased her out of here.

_I shouldn't have let him make me leave. I should have told him to screw off. If I had, then maybe these kids wouldn't have become so strained under his leadership. And maybe I could have kept Minerva from being influenced by him. But that was already happening a long time before I even left. Still..._

She took a big deep breath. She could smell the air of the guild hall, the old musty wood and the cold stone. Chatter filled the hall as members passed in and out, discussing how their jobs went or what requests they were taking, how much Jewels they received, what their day was like, and even a snippet of town gossip here and there, for those who were interested in that.

_It's too bad. I'll have to leave again pretty soon. And if all goes well, the guild will be going with me._ She was putting it off, she knew that. It was a bad thing to do, considering the severity of the situation, but she still couldn't bring herself to bring such a dark atmosphere back into the guild, not when things were just looking up.

A fresh scent entered the vicinity. She smiled. "What's up, kid?"

"Not a kid anymore, Auntie", Sting said, "What are you thinking about? You have a pretty serious expression on your face."

"It's just nostalgia", she answered lightly. It was a half-truth.

"Okay, then." Sting's eyes flashed. The kid could be as dense as a rock, like any other muscle-head who liked a good fight, but he had always been a little more perceptive of other people than he ever let. He knew she was hiding something, and she knew that he knew.

_Quick! Change the subject!_

"So, Sting, how's Myri?"

"Aw, come on, why do you have to ask about _her_?" Sting's blue eyes widened with exasperation.

"You two were a thing, weren't you?" she prodded.

Sting shuffled his feet nervously. "It didn't last, though."

"Aw. That's sad. You guys really liked each other."

"We're still good friends. We just realized we didn't work as a couple is all." He rolled his eyes. "She still makes me babysit her little brothers every now and again."

"Those two demons?"

"Three, now."

"Argh! That's a nightmare!"

Sting chuckled. "You bet it is!"

"Mm. It's good that your still on friendly terms with Myri, even though your relationship didn't go so well. You knew her before you even knew Rogue, right?" She tilted her head.

"Yeah."

"Ah." They stood there, talking about things that had happened in the past while she was away. And all the while, she could feel time slipping away, along with everything that mattered to her.

_They're coming._

_God help me, they're coming._


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Mashima Hiro and Mashima Hiro only.

Chapter 5: Encounter

**_Lucy_**

She walked out of the train station and looked around at what was around her. She was in a little city called Hibiscus. There wasn't much here except for big grocery stores and some small gift shops for passersby. It was bigger than Hargeon Port, to its credit. She looked down at the job request in her hands.

It was for a client named Kyle Bower and he wanted someone to look after his house while he and his family were gone for the day, after which she would get paid 50,000 J. _It's probably actually a good thing that I didn't bring Natsu with me. _That guy could so much as sneeze and the house would fall down.

Just thinking about it made her angry. The jerk complained about the request and when she tried to take off, he said he would come. That only made her angrier, though she couldn't say why. All she knew was that lately he seemed to ignore everything she needed or wanted to do. Ever since the Grand Magic Games, he wouldn't talk to her that much, he wouldn't even stick that close to her. He didn't even try breaking into her house anymore! While that was a relief, it just wasn't like him.

"Did I do something to make him upset at me?", she asked herself. She started walking forward to the area where the house was. She wasn't really paying attention to where she was going, because she was so worried about that. Was he really angry at her?

Then she just got mad all over again. She began to walk faster. "That jerk has no right to be mad at me! I _know_ I did nothing wrong! He's the real jerk in this, no doubt about - Yeargh!" Lucy ran headfirst into someone's back. Whoever it was, they were tall and she was pretty sure it was a guy.

"I'm _so_ sorry!" Lucy stepped back, a blush spreading over her face. "I really didn't mean to bump into you, I just wasn't - " She stopped mid-sentence.

Blode, spiky hair; a big crystal earring; and a pair of big blue eyes that looked just as surprised as hers must have.

It was Sabertooth's Sting Eucliffe.

"Ummm...", he started.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE _YOU_ DOING HERE?!" Lucy backed up another step. She never expected to meet someone from Fairy Tail's last great rivalry, especially here!

Sting blinked a few times. "Well, that was going to be my question, but if you have to know...I'm here to grab something for someone. What about yooouuu...ummm...?"

That did it.

"IT'S LUCY! LUCY, YOU STUPID ASSHOLE!"

Sting's eyes flashed angrily. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"NO, NOT WHATEVER. I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF STUPID JERKS TODAY, WITH THIS AND THAT, SO THE LEAST YOU COULD DO IS REMEMBER MY NAME!" Lucy gasped for breath.

Sting had his hands up defensively, his eyes wide again. Apparently, he had underestimated just how pissed off she was. "Okay...You...still haven't answered my question."

"I'm house-sitting." She glared at him, daring him to make some snide comment.

He didn't rise to the occasion. "A job, huh? Lucky", he muttered.

Lucy eased up a bit. "What do you mean by that?"

"I've been busy ever since the Grand Magic Games, helping sort out the guild and figuring out what I'm supposed to be doing."

_That's right_, Lucy thought, _The last Master and Minerva left, so Sting took charge_.

"And then, the one time I get to go on a job, an old friend shows up, and now she's keeping everyone busy with something. She wanted me to come here and grab something she saw on her way to the guild. It was in one of these shops, she said."

"She must be an important friend, if you're coming all the way out here."

"She's my Auntie. And it's not really that far." He shrugged.

Now she was confused. "I thought you were raised by a Dragon?"

"It's only a nickname. We're not actually related. She just took care of me when I first joined Sabertooth. Rogue, too." Lucy saw his eyes light up as he started talking about her. _He must really like her_. For a second, it was almost like he was a different person than who she thought he was during the Grand Magic Games.

"And anyways", he continued, "It was either come here or stay at the guild and deal with both paperwork _and_ Auntie Lillian questioning me about my ex."

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "You have an ex?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I just find it kind of surprising that you had a girlfriend at all."

He scowled at that, at which point she started to laugh. It was a small chuckle, but for some reason, she kept laughing and laughing until her giggles could be heard down the street.

"Hey, it's not that - it's not that funny..." But he was laughing, too, and pretty soon, both of them found themselves bending over and trying to catch their breath as they laughed.

That was how Sting's Ecxeed, Lector, found them. "Sting-kun", he called, "I found that pendant Lillian wanted."

"O-okay. Haha, I, I guess I'll be going, haha." He straightened up and walked to Lector, who asked, "What's so funny?"

"I have no freakin' clue, Lector."

"Isn't that the girl from Fairy Tail, ummm..."

"LUCY!", she hollered, but this time she was smiling. Sting waved back at her. "I'll remember."

Feeling as though her bad mood had lifted, she walked to where Kyle Bower's place was.

**_Sting_**

Sting looked at the pendant. It was mostly silver, shaped like a rose. Sting really didn't see why it would mean anything to Lillian. She hated roses, thought they were overrated.

_She's stalling_.

But for what he didn't know.

"Does she really need that?" Lector walked beside him on the road that led out of Hibiscus.

"Probably not, but what the hell?" Sting looked up. He could hear people coming from the distance, walking back into town. They were a couple of young preteen girls, arguing about something. He didn't know why, but he got the feeling that he should listen.

"I don't want to, Annie."

"It's a lot faster though, Hannah."

"I don't want to go by Bower's place, it's haunted!"

At this point the girls were walking by him. He turned to them and asked, "What house are you talking about?"

Both girls looked up at him, looked at each other, and then back at him.

One of them, Hannah he guessed, said, "Bower's house. It's haunted."

"You don't know that!" Annie stomped her foot down.

"Yeah, but whenever people go inside they don't come back out! I don't even wanna walk by there!"

"Your being a baby!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am - "

"Um, excuse me", Sting said, "but could you show me where this house is, please? We don't have to go close to it", he added, seeing the look on the girl's face, "I just need to check on something."

_I'm house-sitting._

It had to be a coincidence.

Right?

**A/N: Hello, all readers. I think I might be moving this story forward a little slowly, but I don't really know. I know the last couple have mostly been rambling or fluff and if you think so, please let me know. This is my first fanfic, so I'm still figuring things out, and I would really appreciate some help. Whatever fluff or rambling that goes on in this chapter is intentional though, so please enjoy, and thank you all for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

Discaimer: If anything, it's more like Fairy Tail owns me, but nonetheless no part of it is mine, it only belongs to Mashima Hiro.

Chapter 6: Vanishing Point

**_Lillian_**

Where the hell was he?

Sting had gone off to that little town that she couldn't remember the name to right now and he wasn't back yet. She could've sworn it wasn't _that _far. But then again, she never did have a good sense of distance. Or time, for that matter. She was also very bad at spending money. Or really good, depending on your view of it.

_That's not the issue here!_

He was supposed to be back by now. Figures, that just when she decides to finally tell everyone the big bad secret, Sting's late!

She stood right at the edge of town, where the main road leading in ran through the whole city. People were going in and out, but none were the blonde young man she knew. She breathed in deeply and strained her ears. There was no scent or sound of him. Just a lot of B.O. Did anyone know how to shower these days? Really!

_Soooo not the issue here._

"Where are you, kid?", she whispered, "We don't have anymore time to wait."

Right then, that's when she them coming.

**_Natsu_**

He sat cross-legged on top of a table with a scowl on his face. He looked into space without really seeing anything at all. Next to him, Happy was imitating his pose.

Finally he grunted, reaching his conclusion for the problem he was facing right now.

"I got it! I'll just eat everything at once!" His grey-brown eyes were wide with excitement.

"Aye!" The little blue cat jumped up.

Natsu was about to dig into the smorgasbord that was in front of him when Mirajane came running out into the guild hall, calling his name.

"What is it?" His tone got a little whiny. He was just about to eat, for heaven's sake!

"Where's Lucy?", she asked. She was panting.

"She went on that job, she found, the one where she had to go watch a house or something." He absentmindedly ground his teeth. That was what caused the fight between them earlier. He hadn't wanted to go with her, said as much, and thought everything was fine. But when Lucy yelled at him, he could tell by something in her voice that everything was _not_ fine. He went after her, to tell her sorry and that he would go with her, but she just yelled at him some more - about what, he wasn't really sure - and told him to stay at the guild.

That was when he felt really bad. He knew it was unusual for him to refuse to do anything with her, except ride vehicles. He didn't know why he really did.

_At least, I think I don't know. _Images started flashing through his head, memories surging up, but he shoved them down on reflex. _I don't wanna think about that_.

"You need to hurry up and go find her" Mirajane pointed at the exit. "She could be in serious trouble!"

"What? Why?!"

"Earlier, when she came up to me to tell me that she was accepting the job in Hibiscus, I thought the name of the client sounded familiar. His name was Kyle Bower."

Natsu caught her tone. "Was?"

"He died over 100 years ago. And that's not the scariest part. No one could ever prove it, but there were rumors that he was a wizard from a Dark Guild! When people try investigating his house, none ever come out! People who go looking in for those that disappear don't come out either!"

"What?!" Both Natsu and Happy screamed.

"And what's worst of all is that job requests pop up all over in guilds from Fiore, asking wizards to come and watch the house or look inside or something like that. And just like anyone else, none ever come back out. Natsu, you have to hur - "

He didn't catch the rest of what she was saying. He was already up and running, already out the door, already racing out of Magnolia.

_Lucy. _Her name ran through his head a million times over.

The memory surfaced again, that one crystalline moment where he felt as though the ground had been taken from under his feet. He snarled and dug his heels in harder, running to save her, running from that moment in time that wouldn't leave him alone.

_I don't wanna think about that!_

**_Lucy_**

She looked up at the house in front of her and back at the request. It was the same house alright. It looked like any other house. She was half-expecting a luxurious mansion filled with precious family heirlooms. But it was just an ordinary house.

She walked up to the door and opened it. It opened soundlessly. The request had said that if Kyle wasn't out waiting for her, then it would be alright for her to just walk in.

She looked at the entrance room and found...nothing. There was no furniture, no furnishings, no family photos, no...anything. It looked as if no one had been here in years.

She walked in a little further. "Hello? Is anyone there? I came just like you - " Her sentence ended in a scream as the floor disappeared beneath her feet and she fell into a big gaping hole. But just before she disappeared into the darkness, she felt someone grab her by the arm and try to pull her up. Gravity was the only rule that applied right now, though, as she was dragged down along with the person who tried to help her. The door to the outside slammed shut then, drowning the only source of light and leaving her to fall into the pit.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Anything and everything that is Fairy Tail related belongs to Mashima Hiro, except for my OCs.

Chapter 7: Sea of Souls

_**Lillian**_

A dozen cuss words left her mouth without her even thinking.

_Time's up._

She stood still. Running would only complicate things. She knew he had already seen her. The man had on a suit of armor with the words "ABSOLUTE ZERO" printed over where his heart would be. He had dark hair and a scar over his left eye, and he had a cocky smile on his face that made her want to punch him.

"Well, well, it's been a long time, Lillian", he greeted her.

"Don't address me like we're friends or you bound to get kicked where it _really _hurts", Lillian snarled, "So they sent you, Silver."

"Well, of course. After the team that was sent after you failed with their improvised demolition project, they had to send me." He narrowed his eyes at her. "You have been interfering with Tartaros for a long time. For about twenty-five, twenty-six years maybe. And let me tell you, the boss is tired of it."

She flashed a wicked smile. "Then I must be doing something right. I gotta give you guys your credit, digging up any information on you is just about impossible. Even after such a long time, I still got next to nothing."

"Then we must be doing something right", he shot her own words back at her. She ground her teeth at that. She really hated copycats.

"Where is it?"

"Where is what?", she responded in a mockingly innocent tone.

The smile left Silver's face. "You know what I mean."

She shrugged nonchalantly. "To be honest, I have no idea. That's between you, your guild, and Layla. She's the one who actually took it."

"Layla is not in any position to give answers! There's only you." He pointed at her. "Where did you hide it. Where is E.N.D.?"

She raised her hands up. "No idea. That really sucks for you." Her eyes flashed. "All I know is that Tartaros is finally making their move. And that I'll stop you all right here if I can!"

"Just try it." Silver tensed up.

Her grin became bigger and fiercer. "I'll show you the might of a Stone Dragon Slayer!"

_**Sting**_

He couldn't tell where he was. It was too dark. All he knew was that it felt like he was sinking down into some thick gel. It had no smell of any kind. But that could be because he was too tired to smell. He felt too tired to even move. Not that it would do any good. There was no ground beneath his feet, only this _stuff_. He couldn't even remember why he was here...

He thought there was something in his hand, something he was holding onto.

_She was laughing._

The thought came from nowhere it seemed. But because of it, he held on tighter. It was deeper in the stuff than he was, so tried to lift it, but his limbs felt really heavy. His legs had gone so numb, he couldn't even tell they were there.

It was like he was being swallowed and digested...

_**Lucy**_

She was almost totally immersed in the muck, yet she could still breathe. Up above, it had been so dark that she couldn't see. But once her head broke the surface of the muck, it looked like a totally different scene. There were lights floating in the muck, sinking ever lower. They glittered all kinds of colors. One was a pale green with grey flecks, one was striped blue and pink, and another glowed a hot red. When she looked down at herself, she could see that she had one too. It looked like molten gold with specks of bright silver here and there. She could see right next to where her heart would be. There was another one right next to her. It was more white and shiny than hers, but it had flecks of gold in there as well.

_Sting._

She knew it was him, even though she couldn't really see him. Some kind of sense told her that it was him. She would have been excited that he was there and that she could see all these beautiful lights, except for the growing fear that she was fading. She moved her hand up to her face, struggling to move it through the thick muck. She glanced at her fingertips. They looked smoky and transparent, and they looked as if bits were floating off into the muck. The same thing was happening to Sting.

She started gasping for breath as terror threatened to choke. She almost called out to Natsu by reflex, but then she remembered he wasn't there. Why did she come alone? Now of all times?

She had to do something! Anything! She looked around, but there was nothing, nothing but her, Sting, and the lights.

The lights that were sinking.

Sinking towards _something_.

There had to be something down there, there had to be a bottom!

She looked up at Sting, he hadn't sunk as far as she had, but he was practically out cold. His light was beginning to flicker, as though in pain. He had a pretty tight grip on her arm though. Gently, she pried his hand open. At first he resisted, clinging tighter, but then he opened his hand. She made a silent promise to apologize later if they got out of this. Then, with a great effort, she began to swim downward. Each stroke was nearly impossible to make, but she had to do something.

She passed a light on the way there. It glowed a pale sky blue and it _whispered_ too. It sounded like the voice of a young boy. She passed it by. Thankfully enough, the more further she got down, the easier it was to swim. Pretty soon she could swim through it easier than she could through it easier than she could through water. There was one problem. Her limbs were beginning to go numb. She could hardly tell she was moving. Her hands were almost completely see-through. If this kept up, she wouldn't be able to swim at all.

The fear that she wouldn't make it in time began to paralyze her.

_**Natsu**_

He looked around. There was nothing. He stomped his foot on the hardwood floor. Happy floated

"Come ON, where are you?" He stomped around to see if there was a false floor, but it was just a regular house.

When he came, he caught Lucy's scent right outside the door, and strangely enough that guy Sting's as well. But there was no trace of them inside and none of there scents led away from the door.

His head was beginning to hurt.

There was one thing though. That guy's cat was outside, waiting for him. Lector, or something like that. He said that Sting thought something was wrong and when they came, he just dashed inside, telling Lector to wait.

It just made him want to burn the whole house down in frustration!

_**Lucy**_

She paused, not quite sure how to deal with what was in front of her.

It looked like a big plastic bag. The lights would pass into it and stay there. It looked like there could be hundreds in there. The thing was _absorbing _them!

Could she do anything about it? She was so tired and the thing was so massive. A sense of hopelessness was beginning to take over her.

But then she remembered Sting up above, who was slowly but surely making his way down to where she was. He was going to be eaten by this thing! She looked down at her arms, which were now fading past her elbows. All her fingers were still there and they still had a bit of feeling in hem. She clenched her fists. She had to try!

She reached out and tried to grab it. But her fingers just passed through. She couldn't feel the membrane. She tried her hardest to grasp it, but she couldn't.

The transparency was reaching her elbows. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to keep her tears back.

_Please. Please!_

That was when she felt something inside of her move. A power she didn't recognize began to flow through her.

_"All you had to do was ask..."_

The voice inside her head startled her. She opened her eyes. The golden light inside of her had spread from her chest and down to her arms. They looked almost normal again. Confidence welled up in her. She reached out and was able to grab the membrane this time. _Yes!_

She pulled and twisted, trying to wrench the thing open. Then, she heard the biggest ripping sound she ever heard.

_**Natsu**_

"THAT'S IT!"

He just about had it. He was going to smash everything to bits! His fire began to erupt from every part of his body.

"Natsu, calm down", Happy pleaded.

"Yeah, I don't think you need to bring the house down", Lector added.

"I DON'T CARE!" He raised a fist, ready to bring it down with all his fury.

_BOOM!_

The world turned upside-down and then it began to spin as he was launched into the air by one of the biggest explosions he had ever been in. "WHAT THE HELL!?"

He didn't even hit the ground yet!

When he landed, he hit the ground pretty hard. He looked at the gaping hole where the house used to be and his jaw dropped. Orbs of light were flying out of the hole, shooting very which way and then spontaneously disappearing. There was so many of them that it took a whole ten minutes for the last of them to fly out.

When it was over with, Natsu rushed over to the hole. It wasn't that deep. At the bottom, he could see two people lying in the whole, both of them familiar blondes. He jumped down, never so relieved that Lucy was caught in an explosion.

_**Lucy**_

She heard a familiar voice calling her name. Her eyes fluttered open. Natsu was rushing towards her. A smile touched her face and she felt warmth flood her chest. Her eyes closed again. She was too tired.

_"I'm always here if you need me..." _The voice in her head was still here?

_Who are you?_

_"I've always been here with you..."_

Everything went black just as Natsu put his arms around her.

**A/N: Yay! Lucy and Sting made it out alive! And yes, I have finally answered the question of whether or not Lillian is actually a Dragon Slayer or not, though everyone probably already knew. And as you can see, I brought in Silver, the Ice Devil Slayer and also the subject of E.N.D. These were concepts that were put in the manga after I started this, I know, but I'm going to be constantly bringing in anything Mashima Hiro adds in the manga and putting my own twist on it. Cause let's face it, I do not have the creative power to make everything up on my own. Which means we might see Kyoka, too! It depends on where this goes. So if your up-to-date on the manga, awesome! And if you're not, that's okay, just make a schedule to do some Fairy Tail study time. :) If there was a class on Fairy Tail, I would die of happiness, don't you think?**


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail and everything related to it belong to Mashima Hiro. He can't have Lillian though.

Chapter 8: Stone and Ice

_**A figure in the darkness**_

_Unbelievable! Someone destroyed one of the Soul Collectors!_

A hooded figure looked down at the screen in front of them. There were dots of light all over. All of them were green, except for one that blinked red. They touched the dot, bringing up another screen that had numbers coming in and passing by. _EMERGENCY. MALFUNCTION. THE SOUL COUNT HAS GONE DOWN TO ZERO._ The figure frowned. This shouldn't have been possible. He brushed away the warning and studied the numbers that were coming in.

_This isn't possible._ What the figures demonstrated shouldn't be happening. But at the same time, they knew that it was the only explanation. The S.C. had been destroyed not only on a magical level, but a spiritual one as well. The only problem was that as far as they knew, there was nothing that existed that was capable of that.

_Just what the hell is going on?_

_**Rogue**_

He was talking to Frosch outside the guild when he heard it. Orga and Rufus didn't hear it, but as a Dragon Slayer, he could hear it with sensitive ears.

It started out with a low rumble. It rippled through the ground, a little shockwave that passed by mostly unnoticed. He knew from memory what it was. Auntie Lillian was preparing to fight!

He tilted his head, trying to hear more. Did Sting come back yet, because perhaps they were sparring like they used to all the time. But then they would come to get him, wouldn't they?

Then, the rumble got louder until it was an all out roar that shook the ground. Rogue stood up, as Rufus and Orga looked up, barely noticing the tremor underneath their feet. _That's not friendly sparring!_

"Something's wrong, Frosch! Let's go!" He took off.

"Alright!"

_**Lillian**_

"Stone Dragon's Roar!" Lillian released the immense power from her lungs. The attack was enough to rip up the ground and anything else in its way. But Silver merely dodged it.

He smiled viciously. "Ice Devil's Screech!" He released his own breath attack. Lillian swore for the thousandth time and moved out of the way. He breathed out, his breath encasing everything in ice.

She dashed in, keeping out of the way of the ice, and got in close to Silver. His eyes widened in surprise. "Stone Dragon's Heavy Impact!" Power focused in her right fist, and she swung. The hit connected and the immense force built up in her fist traveled out in a massive shockwave, sending Silver up high into the air.

He straightened himself out in time to land on is feet. "You could make this so much easier, Lillian! Just tell me where E.N.D. is!"

She bared her teeth, making herself look more like a fierce beast than a human being. "I told you I know nothing about where it is! Seriously! You're really starting to piss me off!" She rushed at him again, already building up power.

He was ready this time. He dodged her blow, moving his head aside to avoid the hit to his head. Just like she thought he would.

"Stone Dragon's Weighted Claw!" She swung her leg, releasing another massive shockwave with her leg this time. She got him square in the middle.

"Ice Devil's Touch!" He got off an attack just before he went flying again. A ray of cold air shot out from his hand. She moved, but it still caught her on the shoulder. She hissed as her shoulder froze over completely. She built up power in her shoulder and with a powerful jerk shattered the ice. It still left a painful sensation similar to frostbite. _I'm going to feel that tomorrow._

Silver got up again. "No wonder the teams sent after you had so much trouble." Suddenly, the air got really cold, so cold that it was hard to breathe. "But I am one of the Kyuukimon."

She could feel his power building up to an insane level. She moved quickly, clasping her hands together and raising them high above her head, focusing all her might into one point.

"Ice Devil's Cage!" A wave of cold air radiated out from Silver, moving like a wave. Everything past Silver began to freeze over, a layer of ice rapidly spreading to cover everything.

_Not if I can help it!_ "Stone Dragon's Earth-Shaking Impact!" She brought her hands down, slamming them to the ground. It buckled underneath her, cracking and rippling in a massive chain reaction. The mini earthquake she had generated spread at a much higher speed than the ice, breaking it up where it had managed to spread. Behind her, she could hear windows breaking, walls cracking, and people screaming in shock. _The mayor's gonna rip off my head for that one._

Silver had, for the third time, been sent flying by a ripple in the earth. He glared at her furiously. She responded with a mocking smile. "I think I win", she said in a singsong tone.

"Did you think I was using my full strength right then?", he shot at her.

"Do you think I am?" Her pupils turned to slits. Her eyes turned from their usual deep green to a burning gold. She brought her power to a level she had rarely ever brought it to. The air around her stirred from the pressure it caused. Her eyes changed again. This time they turned to a cold dark gray, hard as stone.

Silver studied her, gauging her.

"Leave this town", she commanded. Her voice had deepened so much, that it echoed. "If you don't, I'll end you right here."

Silver's cocky smile came back. "I highly doubt that you could, but even so, it's not time to bring attention to Tartaros. So I'll take my leave for now. But just remember", he said as he began to turn away, "_I'll _be the one to end _you_."

And with that, he walked away until he was out of sight. She didn't give chase. She knew she had pushed her luck as it was. She lowered her power and looked back at the town. Some buildings had collapsed, but from the looks of things, no one had received more than a few scratches. I still looked pretty bad, though.

Maybe she should have just let him freeze everything after all...

"Auntie!" Rogue popped, followed by Frosch, Orga, and Rufus.

"What happened?" Rogue stopped in front of her.

She paused looking at the direction where Silver had disappeared, then back at the town that she had more than slightly damaged.

_Time's up. Time to talk._

"Let's go back to the guild hall and wait for Sting. I need him to be here." She started back, not even checking to make sure everyone was following her.

**A/N: Just for the record, the attacks that Silver and Lillian used were completely made up by me. I have no idea what Silver's attacks actually are, so if they turn out being different in the manga, the error is mine. I just really don't want to wait for another 20 manga chapters to let me know how Silver fights (or what his personality's really like), so if you're reading the manga as well as this fanfic, just remember that I'm adding my own flair to these characters that we hardly know anything about. Everything else I try to keep as canon as possible. If anyone reading needs to ask any clarifying questions, just post them in a review.**


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Everything Fairy Tail belongs to Mashima Hiro.

Chapter 9: Truth

_**Sting**_

He held his pounding head in his hands. He never had a headache this bad, even when he was hung-over. He chanced a look up at Natsu-san and Lucy, who were discussing the events.

He personally had no idea what happened. He remembered seeing Lucy through the open doorway in the house. Then he had seen the floor beneath her feet turn black and it looked like she had been sucked in. He had reached her by the time and had grabbed her around the elbow. Only he ended up getting sucked in, too. After that, everything was a vague blur. He just knew that at one point, Lucy had slipped from his grasp and then the whole place erupted. He had woken up in a room of the only inn in Hibiscus, The Steamboat - a horrifying name for any place. Lucy and Natsu-san had been there, too. Lucy got the only bed in the room, while Sting had been put on the floor, where Natsu-san, Lector, and Happy also spent the night.

In shorter terms, it was the lamest attempt in all of history to save a damsel in distress.

"Just what the heck was up with that creepy house?", Natsu-san asked.

"I have no idea." Lucy shook her head. She was sitting on the edge of the bed with a blanket wrapped around her. Her hair was in a loose ponytail. His eyes fell on a strand of her hair that had escaped and brushed against her cheek. "What I want to know is", he pitched in, "how the hell did you get us out of there?"

Lucy looked at him and then shook her head again. "I don't really know the answer to that either."

His headache pounded. "What do you mean?"

She blushed, a sheepish look crossing her face. "I don't know...I just can't really say how it happened. I don't think it would make sense if I tried to put it into words."

His headache sent another throb, this one right between the eyes. He pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. "Normally, I would ask you to try and explain, but I don't think I can handle any more information."

"Are you sure you're okay, Sting-kun?" Lector put his paw on Sting's leg.

"Yeah, man", Natsu-san added in, "You really don't look too hot right now."

He waved it off. "I'll be fine. Right now, Lector and I gotta get going. Lillian's gonna be pissed that I took so long, not to mention everyone's going to be worried."

"Lillian?" Natsu-san tilted his head, confused.

"A friend of his", Lucy answered him before Sting could.

He lifted himself off the floor, trying to ignore another painful throb. "I'm gonna go pay for the night. After that, me and Lector'll leave for home."

Lucy's eyes widened. "You don't have to pay! Natsu's the one that brought us here!"

"Hey!"

"At least split the bill!"

Sting shook his head, which was an incredibly stupid move. "I'd like to", he said while holding his head, "but I think I'm the only one who brought any money here."

Both Natsu-san and Lucy looked at the floor, blushing.

He smiled. "It's okay, really. I do owe you Lucy."

"But I didn't really do anything", she muttered.

He just chuckled at her. "Come on, Lector. Lets go." With that, he and his pal left the room.

_**Lucy**_

She wrapped the blanket tighter around herself. She looked at Natsu, who was sitting rather silently. He was staring off into the corner rather intensely.

Happy, sensing the mood, stood up from where he was sitting by Natsu and said, "I'm going to go see if they have fish!" Then he scampered out of the room.

She waited for Natsu to do something, anything. But he just stayed quiet. She felt a pang in her chest. His silence hurt. His whole avoidance thing hurt. Finally, she couldn't stay quiet anymore. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing", he answered her without looking away from his corner. Sweat was beading on his forehead and he looked uncomfortable.

She slid off the edge of the bed and scooted closer until she was sitting in front of him. She placed a hand on his knee. For the first time that morning, he looked her in the eye. His brown-grey eyes were wide as she asked, "Did I do something wrong? Something to upset you?"

"What? No." He really looked uncomfortable now.

She moved her hand away, stung. "There has to be something wrong. You're not acting like yourself!" Lucy's voice began to rise. "Your not cheerful around me, you hardly look at me, and you won't go on jobs with me unless someone else goes with us!And it's only just me that you're treating this way! So I have to have done something to you! Why won't you tell me?" She was nearly in tears by the time she finished.

Natsu looked stunned by everything she said. "It's nothing - ", he tried to say, but she cut him off. "Don't lie to me! Not to _me_! We're supposed to be _friends_!"

Natsu went silent again, looking at her. Then she could see his eyes fill with an intensity she had never seen before.

"You disappeared." The words came out with a great deal of effort, she could see that.

"What do you mean?" What he said had no meaning to her. Was he talking about when she went in the house?

He was quiet for a bit again, but she waited. Finally, he opened his mouth to say something.

"Natsu! I found a place next to the inn that sells fish! Come on!" That damned feline floated in on his wings, as blissful as a true idiot.

"Yeah, okay", Natsu said quickly. He stood up and left the room without another word or look at Lucy.

The sound of the door closing when Natsu left sounded so loud to her. For a second, she stopped breathing. It felt as though Natsu had closed that door on _her_, like he was done with her. He certainly left the room like he wanted to be anywhere other than there. But that must be what's happening right? She didn't understand how or why, but maybe Natsu wanted to leave her behind. Thinking that, Lucy's chest felt like it was being squeezed, making it difficult to breathe. Pretty soon, she was gasping for air. It took her a minute to realize that she was actually crying, her tears spilling over her cheeks. She wiped at her eyes and tried to stifle the sobs. It didn't work out too well.

She doubled her efforts when she heard the door open. She quickly buried her face in the blanket as a voice called out, "Hey, I think I left something in here - what's going on with you?"

Lucy shook her head, not trusting herself to be able to talk at the moment. She pointed at the nightstand, where the rose pendant was laying. She kept her face down. She heard Sting walking through the room, but not to the nightstand. He stopped right in front of her, where Natsu was just a few seconds ago. "Lucy?"

Hesitantly, she looked up. Sting was kneeling in front of her. His eyes widened a little bit when he saw her crying. "Everything all right here?"

She laughed bitterly. "Not quite sure about that."

Sting looked at her awkwardly. "Do you...need someone to stay with you?"

She shook her head vigorously. "You already said you need to go home. I'll be fine, I promise." Sting just looked at her uncertainly for minute, but then he nodded and stood up. He went to the nightstand and grabbed the pendant. He was just about to walk out the door when Lucy said, "Thank you."

He stopped. "Huh?"

"For yesterday. You didn't have to come back to try and help me, but you did. You knew something was wrong. And also...thanks for asking if I'm all right." She looked up at him.

He blushed. "It's nothing, really. I wasn't even of much use." He scratched his head.

_He's actually kind of an awkward person._ A small smile crossed her face.

"Well, then...until next time, huh?"

"Yeah." Lucy nodded. Then Sting left the room, closing the door behind him. Outside though, she heard him say, "Ow! Damn headache!"

She giggled, but her depression came back. She buried her face again in the blanket.

What was she going to do about Natsu?

_**Sting (A Few Hours Later)**_

_Okaaaayy...?_

He had gone back home walking. With the killer headache he had, he thought it wouldn't be such a good idea to add motion sickness to his plate. Otherwise, he really just might puke his guts out. The walk had actually been a good idea. His headache cleared up after a while, making the trip go much more smoothly.

And now he was standing here, at the entrance to his town.

_Oh God, I must really be in for it._

The level of destruction and the type of destruction he saw in front of him was reminiscent of a certain Stone Dragon Slayer he knew. The last time he had seen something like this, some drunkard had tried to pull Lillian's skirt when she had gone drinking one time. He was pretty sure that guy was now keeping himself very sober.

And now, he was going to be facing the same kind of wrath. Lector looked like he was having the same kind of doubts.

"Sting-kun?"

"Yeah, Lector?"

His friend looked up at him, sweating like crazy. "What are we going to do about this?"

"I don't know about you, but I think I'm going to go back to that hole in Hibiscus..." He really would rather be in that dark place than deal with Lillian when she was in a bad mood. He loved that woman like family, but no force in heaven, hell, or Earthland could make him face her right now.

"Hey, I found you! D'you know Lillian's looking for you two?"

Except that one.

He recognized her first by her mess of black curls. After that, the rest of her came into focus. Myri trotted up to him cheerfully, her blue eyes positively sparkling. She was wearing a big white sun hat, which matched her tight white tank top, along with her light blue skirt and her white sandals. She actually looked really beautiful right now.

_Whoa! Slow down man!_ Sting knew exactly where those thoughts took him.

It was still good to see her though. He smiled. "What's up, Myri?"

"Nothing much", she shrugged, "Things are kind of slow at the hotel right now, so dad doesn't need me to help him. The twins were starting to drive me nuts though, so I left before I got homicidal." She giggled. "Oh and by the way..."

"Ow!" Sting rubbed his shoulder where Myri had landed an awfully hard punch. "What the hell was that for?"

"_That_", she jabbed a finger at his chest, "was for not telling me Lillian was back. You know I like her just as much as you and Rogue-kun!"

"Oh", Sting scratched the back of his head, "well, sorry about that."

"You know, just because we stopped dating doesn't mean we're not friends", she pouted.

"I know that! It's just that I got a lot on my plate right now. I'm still getting used to being in charge and I'm also trying to straighten Sabertooth out, so filling you in on things wasn't exactly high on my priority list - OW!" Myri punched him again.

"I used to be your girlfriend, you know!"

"Well, are you going to get mad at me because you want to be my friend or because you want to be my ex?! Sheesh!" Sting threw his hands up in the air.

Myri placed her hands on her hips, "Well, which one would you prefer?"

"Oh, no, I am _so _not getting into that conversation with you!"

"Hmph! Fine", Myri shook her head, "By the way, Lillian's been waiting for you forever. What took so long? Never mind, I don't want to know. You better hurry to the guild hall." She narrowed her eyes at him "And if you don't, I'm going to tell Rogue all the bad things you used to say about him when you were younger." She winked then, and walked away, humming a tune from a song he knew she listened to a long time ago.

_We used to sing it all the time_.

"Thanks for bailing me out there, buddy", he said sarcastically to Lector, who had stayed silent the whole time.

"I know better", he said, "I still have nightmares from the time she pulled half my whiskers out for laughing at something she said to you."

He sighed. Well, he guessed he had no choice then.

"Let's get to the guild hall."

"Yeah."

_**Lillian**_

When Sting finally walked through the door, she felt a weight lift off her shoulders. She had been worried when he didn't return last night, or this morning. Noon had passed and there had been no sign of him still. But now he was here, and she could finally do what she came here to do.

When he walked in, he had that sheepish look on his face, like he did that one time when she caught him filling Rogue's pants with ants and sawdust.

_That was only a few short years ago, but it feels like forever. _Back then, he had only been as tall as her waistline. Now he was a full head taller than her and looking more like a man every day. Rogue, too. It had been a shock to see them both the way they were after a while. _God, I'm starting to feel old._

Rogue met Sting and Lector at the door. She could hear him telling them about the scene they had found when they caught up to her and that she had something very important to tell all of them.

Sting walked up to her, his face serious now.

"What's going on, Lillian?" he asked. There was no suspicion or malice in his voice, only concern.

She took a deep breath and folded her hands together. She looked Sting in the eye and started with, "I wish I really had come here to stay. I really do."

Sting's and Rogue's eyes widened at that.

"The truth is I came to see everyone here and get everyone out."

"What?! Why?!"

She looked up at the ceiling. "I've been involved in something for a long time now. Over two decades now. I've been working with the Dragons on something."

"But the Dragons have disappeared!" Rogue looked confused.

"True, but they've been in contact with me, courtesy of Grandine's telepathy. They've only involved me because at the time I was the only Dragon Slayer capable of handling what they wanted me to do, which was to spy on a certain dark guild, Tartaros. And they wanted something specific for me to find out. I'll tell about that later, because right now there's something more pressing. Tartaros is finally starting to make their move." She put her head in her hands. "The problem with that, besides the obvious, is that I have no idea what that move is. They found me out before I could dig anything more up. I just know that it's going to affect all of Fiore. The Dragons have no clue what's going on either, so there's no help from that corner." She laughed bitterly and looked up at them. "And there you have it boys."

Everyone in the guild hall looked stunned. Sting and Rogue looked at each other, looking confused at all hell. She felt a pang of guilt and sorrow. _I just wanted to come home and have a few laughs with my boys._ However, reality always came to give her a good kick in the ass.

"So you came here...to warn us?" Rogue looked back at her. "What are we supposed to do now?"

She shrugged. "I was thinking of changing my country citizenship and taking you all with me. But the decision's up to you guys." She looked at all of them. No one said anything. Granted she didn't say much, but the weight of the things she said were taking their toll on everyone.

Then Sting said, "We should go to the Magic Council with this." He looked at her. "Is that okay with you?"

She nodded. She would rather really stuff everyone in Sabertooth into bags and take them all on a train into the sunset and out of Fiore, but that was the family woman in her screaming about and panicking, throwing all her underwear into a knapsack and writing a goodbye letter to the world. The slightly more rational part of her acknowledged that what Sting said was the more logical choice.

Then the crazy family woman in her head took over again and said _Fine, but if my guild is going to be in trouble in any way, we are booking the first whatever out of here!_

"To the Magic Council", she agreed quietly.

**A/N: Okay, I made Natsu seem kinda like a jerk, I know, but all that is going to be cleared up later, I promise. Meanwhile, I managed to squeeze in an introduction of Sting's ex-girlfriend, which was actually kind of pointless, but that's okay!:) Lillian has finally revealed the secret! Now everything is really going to start moving, I swear! Thanks to everyone who reads this story and most especially to the people who have either followed, favorited, or reviewed this story! You make me feel loved! XD And remember, any comments or questions, just post a review.**


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Nope. Not mine. Never. Ever. Ever. *points finger at Mashima Hiro* It's his. *cries*

Chapter 10: Before the Storm

_**Lucy**_

Coming back had been awful.

Natsu and her had not spoken at all on the train back to Magnolia. Happy had tried a few times to get them into conversations, but the silence held. Finally, he too just stopped talking. Outside, the sky was already beginning to blaze a bright orange as the sun started to set.

She couldn't even bring herself to look at him. She felt that if she did, she would break down crying, and she just didn't want to do that right now. So instead, she looked at down at her feet, ignoring the fact that he was suffering his usual morning sickness, and tried to think of everything that could have possibly made Natsu act the way he was acting now. She went through all of their conversations in her head, all the times that they were around each other. He had asked her to go on that job with her before, but after that, he started acting weird. Had that been it? Because she refused to go on a job with him?

_Even Natsu's not that petty though..._

Whatever the case, when they got off at Magnolia, Lucy headed straight home, walking back like there was no tomorrow. She actually almost fell into the river twice when she walked on the edge and didn't hear when the boat driver warned her to be careful. When she got home, she wrenched open the door to her apartment, slammed it shut, stalked into her room, threw off most of her clothes, and threw herself on her bed.

All she wanted was a good night of sleep and to not think about Natsu for a little bit. The whole day had turned out horrible because of him!

Well, not the whole day...

Sting had been kinder than she ever thought he could be. She remembered when he was one of the ones who was laughing the loudest when she was getting whaled on by Minerva. And yet, he had stopped for a second to check if she was okay. He really was trying to change, she guessed. Or maybe he had always been that way and had only been like that because he was influenced by the previous master. His eyes were a really pretty shade of blue, too, especially up close.

Her eyelids started to flutter. As sleep started taking hold, images of Natsu's face and Sting's face began to run through her mind until they began to blur together. Brown-grey eyes and pink hair mixed in with bright blue eyes and pale blonde hair. And then, finally, her mind went black, taking her away from any rational thought...

_"This is it." Someone said._

_"This", another person put in, "is_ it_? It's huge and it smells bad. Not to mention it's making me feel sick." _

_She couldn't see what these people looked like. She couldn't even tell what gender they were or even if they were actually people. She only knew that they were saying something._

_"It has that affect on everyone."_

_They were talking about her. Why?_

_"How the hell are you going to get this thing out of here?"_

_"Magical-Physical Realignment."_

_"Excuse me? Speak dumb, please."_

_"Basically, I'm going to change it's shape, so it'll be easier to get outside. After that, you can destroy it."_

_A wave of fear washed over her. Why would these people want to hurt her? What had she done to them?_

_A pounding echoed through the place suddenly._

_"What the - "_

_"I thought they weren't supposed to be here yet!"_

_"There's no time..."_

_"Hang on.."_

_All of a sudden, there was a tugging sensation that turned into a sharp pain. She was being taken somewhere, dragged somewhere against her will. She tried to call for Natsu, but she had no voice, she didn't have anything! Everything was starting to fade into black and she couldn't even scream..._

She gasped and sat up quickly. There was something tangled around her. She screamed, and twisted around, trying to escape. _They're going to kill me!_ She lunged away...

...And ended up diving off her bed and hitting the floor really hard. The thing that had been tangled around her was her comfy pink blanket. "Ooooowwwww", she moaned. She straightened herself out and took the blanket off. What the heck had she been dreaming about? All she could remember was that she had been afraid.

She stood up and straightened her clothes out. She sighed. Couldn't she just stay in bed today? For once, she really didn't feel like going to the guild today. She wasn't quite ready to deal with a certain fire-breathing idiot.

She sighed again. She went to her dresser and rifled through her clothes. She dressed to her mood, picking a blue tank and a pair of gray jean shorts. It wasn't something you really wore when you planned on going outside, but that was the point. She felt like hiding at home today would be a good idea.

She opened her bedroom door, clothes in arm, and made her way into the bathroom. At least, that's the way it should have. As soon as she opened the door, she spotted Rogue Cheney sitting in a chair in the living room. It would have been impossible to miss the Shadow Dragon Slayer in the midst of her bright room. She looked at him in surprise. He looked up at her as well. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but then he stopped and started blushing profusely.

"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE!" Lucy reached for the nearest objects besides her clothes and started chucking things at him regardless of what they were. "GET OUT!"

"Um, wait, I can explain!" Rogue lifted a hand, trying to ward off all the thing she was throwing at him, still blushing like crazy. He was almost as pink as Natsu's hair. "P-please, Mirajane-san told me that if I needed to come get you, I should just wait in your house! Please, Lucy-san, I didn't mean any harm by it!"

"I DON'T CARE! GET OUT!" Lucy had a chair in hand and lifted it high over her head. It hit the wall with a loud crash as Rogue dodged neatly out of the way when she threw it.

"But something important is going on at your guild! I came all the way here with Orga because the Magic Council told us to come here and see if Fairy Tail could do anything about what's going on right now!" Rogue spoke very rapidly, still somehow managing to stand even when Lucy nailed him on the head a few times with books from her bookshelf.

But after Lucy heard what he was saying she stopped mid-throw, a high-heeled shoe poised high above her head. "What's going on at the guild?"

"W-well, first...", Rogue stammered, his face extremely red.

"What?"

"C-could you p-please p-put some c-clothes on?" Rogue pointed at her.

Lucy looked down at herself and screamed in horror. She was in a white tank top with a white bra covered in heart shapes being clearly visible and a pair of skimpy white underwear. By reflex, she threw the shoe in her hand and screamed, "YOU PERVERT!"

Rogue finally went down as the heel of the shoe pierced his skull.

A few minutes later, Lucy was fully dressed and ready to leave the house with Rogue. She had chosen a yellow minidress in the place of her stay-at-home outfit. She went with her usual side ponytail. She grabbed her keys and her whip as well and walked to the guild with Rogue. On the way, they didn't talk much past her apologizing for putting a hole in Rogue's head and him apologizing for not realizing that it was actually a really bad idea to walk into a girl's house without permission from the girl herself. When she asked him what was going on that was so important, he just said, "You should wait until we're at Fairy Tail. This is really serious, so it's best if you hear it with your guild." After that, they didn't talk at all.

However, the silence wasn't awkward at all. She got the feeling that Rogue was by nature a very quiet person and was more comfortable that way. Though she normally liked to talk a lot (as Happy liked to point out all the time), being quiet around Rogue wasn't all that hard. _I wonder how Sting deals with the quiet?_

When they entered Fairy Tail, Lucy looked around and spotted her usual group. Erza, Gray, Natsu, Happy, Wendy, and Carla were all sitting by the bar, where the Master was sitting as well and Mirajane was wiping another glass clean.

"Ah, Lucy!", the white-haired mage called, smiling sweetly, "So I take it Rogue found you?"

"Yeah. Thanks." Lucy settled in between Gray and Wendy, making it a point to not look in Natsu's direction.

"Well now children, what is your purpose for being here?" Master Makarov looked up at Rogue, who was shortly joined by his companion Frosch - who for some reason Lucy couldn't figure out was always wearing a frog costume - and Orga.

"A few days ago, an old member of Sabertooth came back. Lillian, who was mine and Sting's mentor for a short while, came back for what we believed was just a reunion. But she came bearing some grim news." Rogue paused, looking at the Master uncertainly. "I'm not quite sure how, but it seems as though Lillian has been following the movements of a dark guild known as Tartaros."

The Master's eyes widened at that. Everyone in the guild hall gasped. "Isn't that one of the guilds that are a part of the Balam Alliance?", Lucy asked.

"They are." Erza was all tense, as though she was facing down an enemy.

"That's scary", she whined.

Rogue continued, "She says that Tartaros is putting in motion a plan that affects all of Fiore. She wasn't able to find out what it was, but she's pretty sure it's bad. And not only that, it seems as though she's being targeted by Tartaros because they know she knows something. Just recently, they came to our in search of her and before that, they derailed a train in hopes of killing her."

"Hold on", Gray interrupted, "Are you talking about the train wreck I was in?"

Rogue glanced at Gray. "It's the only train wreck I know of that's happened recently, so I suppose so."

"So that's who that woman was! She was talking about stuff like that on the train, too!" Gray leaned forward, his shirt suddenly gone.

Rogue nodded. "After that, we decided to head to the Magic Council Era to tell them of this. Lillian went into a little more detail there. She says that whatever they're planning, it's going to happen within the next couple of weeks. And she also says...she says that their plan may somehow involve Acnologia."

Everyone in Fairy Tail stared at the Shadow Dragon Slayer. No one said a word after that. Lucy heart sank at the name. Memories of the big black monster made her break out in a cold sweat.

"Lucy's all juicy", Happy muttered.

"It's sweat!"

"Mm." The Master stared at the ground. "So the Magic Council told you to come tell us this, I suppose."

"They had a suggestion of getting the Allied Forces back together, along with the addition of a few other guilds, Sabertooth included. They want us to investigate every possible lead based off of whatever information Lillian has. They plan to allow this within the next day or so, so they told us to alert the guilds they wanted to join as quickly as possible. Rufus should be over at Blue Pegasus and Yukino at Mermaid's Heel telling them the very same thing. After he's done with the Council, Sting is going to go alert Quatro Cerberus and Lamia Scale as well."

"I see." The Master rubbed his chin. "Well, if they are getting the Allied Forces back together, then it would make sense to send the same team. How about you brats?"

"Oh yeah!" Natsu stood up, already pumped and ready to go.

"Things have been getting a little boring", Gray added with a crooked smile.

"We will do what we can, Master", Erza chimed in as well. She put her hands on her hips, looking ready to go.

"Does that mean I get to go as well?", Wendy asked. Carla was right behind her

"I think I'll want a piece of the action this time", Gajeel said in between bites of nails and bolts.

"Juvia as well." The blue-haired rain woman inched a little closer to Gray, shooting daggers at Lucy with her eyes.

"Ummm...", Lucy raised her hand, "I don't think I'd be of much use, so can I stay home?"

"Lucy's so laaazzzyyy", Happy purred.

"Shut up, you stupid cat! I don't feel like dying!"

"What are you talking about?" Erza looked at Lucy. "You can be quite useful given the right circumstances and you'll have us with you if you need help."

She felt a little better after that. But then...

"But if you still don't feel too good, you can just stay."

Lucy whirled around and glared outright at Natsu, a surge of anger coming from nowhere. "I don't need to hear that from _you_!"

Natsu looked at her in surprise, his mouth wide open. "I was just saying - "

She didn't hear the rest of what he was trying to say, stomping out of the guild and wishing she'd saved that heel for him.

**_Erza_**

"Go apologize, Natsu!"

"Why? I didn't do any-"

"_Now_!"

Natsu blanched. "Yes, Erza." Then he scampered off in the direction Lucy went, Happy close behind him.

_Honestly, what's going on with those two?_ Even she could tell something was wrong. Lucy always snapped at Natsu, but never in such a vicious way like she had just now. And Natsu would have never said something like that to Lucy before. Something was up.

"Is everything...alright?" Rogue looked uncomfortable.

"Just a squabble", the Master said, waving it off, "They'll get over it. Tell the Magic Council that Fairy Tail is in."

"Of course. Thank you, Master Makarov." Rogue dipped his head to the Master and told his companions to come with him. As soon as they left the guild hall, everyone broke out in chatter."

"I thought we were done with the Balam Alliance..."

"Acnologia...That's something I don't want to deal with again..."

"What are we gonna do...?"

"What do you make of all of it?" Gray looked at Erza. He looked a little uneasy and yet excited. His shirt and pants were, of course, nowhere to be seen.

"I don't know. I just know that it's an enemy that has to be dealt with." Erza clenched her fists. "We can't allow a dark guild to harm innocent people!"

"I know what you mean", Gray craned his neck back until he was staring straight up at the ceiling. "Maybe we should follow them."

"I don't think Rogue has anymore to say -", she started.

"No, not them. Natsu and Lucy. They seem to be going through a bit of a rough patch right now."

"They're good friends. They'll get through it." Erza was sure an apology from Natsu would make Lucy feel good enough to come back to the guild.

Gray, however, had a different opinion. "I don't know Erza. I've never seen them like this before. Usually they're attached at the hips, but right now it seems like they don't want anything to do with each other." He reached back and put his hands behind his head. He had an oddly wise look in his eyes.

_Really?_ She didn't think things were that bad. "Well...If it's not fixed by tonight, then we'll step in. I still think it would be better if we let them work things out on their own."

"Alright." Gray shrugged. He stood up and started walking away.

"Where are you going?" Erza stared at his bare back.

"To get ready. Sounds like we're gonna be pretty busy from here on out." Gray waved bye and then, he too left the guild hall.

Wendy was talking to Carla, Mirajane was consulting with the Master, Gajeel was talking at Juvia, while the water mage was staring longfully at where Gray had left the hall.

Erza felt strangely alone, even though she was surrounded by people, her people. For a second, she wanted to go after Gray, but then she shook her head at the idea. _I just need to go get ready for tomorrow as well._

**_Natsu_**

His run had slowed to a walk soon after he left the new, massive Fairy Tail building. He knew it was an order from Erza, but...

For once, he really had no idea what to say to Lucy. He was normally able to cheer her up with hardly any effort, but lately it seemed like he couldn't say anything to her at all.

Maybe it was because it was the first time that he was really doubting that he knew what he was feeling. Because he really didn't know. He felt like he had to stay close to Lucy, to watch out for her, to protect her. That feeling had only intensified after the Grand Magic Games, after the Dragons attacked.

But then he also felt as though he couldn't be around her. It brought up that bad memory, the one that he still couldn't quite admit to himself that it scared him to death. What if something like that happened again? What if he wasn't able to stop it? Lucy was strong in her own way, but she was also so _breakable_. And for the first time ever he felt as though he might be able to do nothing about it. He didn't like having these doubts or these questions, and they mostly popped up when Lucy was around, so he distanced himself.

He started absentmindedly walking down the road by the river, the one that led to Lucy's house. He looked down at Happy.

"What is it, Natsu?" His partner looked up at him with concern in his eyes.

"Nothing, just...can you go hang with Wendy and Carla for a bit? I feel like I need to speak to Lucy alone", he stated.

Happy instantly perked up at the mention of spending time with Carla. "Sure! But don't do anything inappropriate to Lucy when I'm not watching."

"Whatever", Natsu said, blushing a bright red.

His friend was already walking away, happy as...well, Happy. He continued walking down the road, looking up at the clear blue sky. He almost missed her, looking back down to earth just in time to see her before he passed her by.

Lucy was sitting in front of her house, right by the edge of the river. Her legs were hanging over the water, her shoes just barely touching it. The reflection of the sunlight off the water made patterns all over her face. Her brown eyes were darker than usual, almost black. Her shoulders were slumped and she was biting her lip. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. His throat tightened. He hated seeing her like that. He loved it when she was being lively, whether she was yelling at the top of her lungs or laughing with everyone else.

Feeling more than a little guilty, he walked up behind her. "Hey", he said.

She stayed silent, not even moving an inch.

Okay, now he had absolutely no idea what to do. He scratched his head. Then he just sat down right next to her. "You can't keep not talking to me forever."

"That's funny", Lucy said bitterly, "You were the one that stopped talking."

He pointed at her. "HA! See!"

"That's not the point here!" Lucy slapped her hand down on the pavement really hard, then jerked it back up with a pained expression on her face. Sucy groaned in exasperation. "Why do I bother trying to explain things to you? You never understand."

Natsu didn't have a reply to that. He already knew he was stupid, so he ignored that comment. Hesitantly, he asked, "What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with_ me_? What's wrong with _you_?" She turned around and looked Natsu full in the face, her eyes blazing. He thought he'd never, ever seen her look so angry. "You don't talk to me anymore, you won't go on jobs with me, you avoid me like I'm carrying some deadly disease, and you ask me what's wrong with _me_? You don't even break into my house anymore!"

Natsu had started inching away when she started ranting. Man, she really could be scary sometimes! "So...your mad at me...cause I won't break into your house?"

"_NO!_"

"Okay, okay!" He scooted away by about another foot and considered making a break for it.

"I'm mad because you're not even treating me like I'm your friend anymore!" The tears started to really well up now.

Natsu blinked. "What are you talking about? You _are _my friend!"

Lucy slapped her hand down again, harder than before. "You could have fooled me!"

"Well, it's just...I just...", he stammered.

"Just what?!"

"I - I don't _know_!" He was really frustrated now. He didn't know how to put what he was feeling into words! So instead, he started spouting off what must have mostly been nonsense. And yet, somehow, bit by bit, it started to come out. Witnessing Future Lucy's death, how shocked he was, how angry and sad it made him, and how after the ordeal had been done with he was _scared_, yes he was scared, of losing Lucy again, this time for good. All the doubts and questions came pouring out, more than he ever thought he had, while just sat there and listened. When he was done, he was panting and Lucy just stared at him. Noon had passed well into the afternoon and now it looked as if it might rain.

They were both quiet for a while after that. Finally, Lucy whispered, "Why didn't you just tell me all of this before?"

"Cause I really didn't know how to", he muttered. He covered his face with his scarf. Just what the hell had he actually said? He couldn't really remember now that it was over.

"You shouldn't feel that way", she said softly, "I know you would never let like that happen to me. I believe in you, remember?"

Natsu looked at her. All traces of sadness were gone from her face. There was only a warm smile, that smile that he believed she only showed to him. His chest felt tight all of a sudden and it felt hard to breathe. Lucy moved towards him and wrapped her arms around him, while burying her face in his chest. "I know you'll always be here for me", she whispered.

He smiled and returned the hug, "Of course." Another memory flashed before his eyes. One where Lucy had walked up behind him and embraced him so tightly, it felt like she was never going to let go. It had been right after the Dragons had gone to their own time and one of the hardest fights of his life were over. He felt just as warm now as he had in that moment.

Later on, he would wish he had never really let go of her. It would be the last time they had had a peaceful moment like that before the storm came.

**A/N: AWWWW! Natsu matures a little (not much but still, give the boy a pat on the back). FORESHADOWING! You gotta love it! And I sincerely apologize to WishToBeWizard, who requested more StiCy. T-T I'm so sorry, I had already written this chapter with a major NaLu moment in mind, but I swear there is going to be StiCy moments! Whether or not StiCy or NaLu is my endgame is something I'm not willing to divulge yet...**


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Lillian and Myri are the only things Fairy Tail related that belong to me. The rest is Mashima Hiro's

Chapter 11: The New Allied Forces

_**Sting**_

"Ah hell." He glared up at the gloomy sky, inwardly damning every drop of rain that landed in his eyes. The clouds above were dark grey and low, hovering over everything with the intention of staying right where it was and dumping more rain. It didn't help that he was wearing his usual clothes: His black and white pants with his black boots, a brown half- shirt that exposed his abs, a sleeveless overcoat, and his blue gloves. Now he was soaked through to the bone. "Where did this come from?"

"What's the problem? It's just a little rain." Lillian stood right beside him, staring up at the sky as well. She had an actual smile on her face though. A smile! Who the heck smiled at the rain?

The both of them had finally been released from the Magic Council's clutches. Both of them had had to stand there all day and go over every detail of Lillian's story again and again. Lahar especially asked all the annoying questions, even when they had all been answered. Do you have any names? Do you know how many wizards there are? Do you know where any of their bases are located? Just how serious is this threat? Why should the Magic Council believe that this threat was even real in the first place? That last one had made him want to punch the four-eyed Council member straight in the nose, especially after the seventh time he asked it.

They were finally let out when Lillian lost her temper and started calling everyone assholes and started threatening to bring the building down around their ears. He could feel her power starting to make the air buzz. Sting had to get her out of there quick, insisting that all she needed was a bit of fresh air.

And now, they were waiting for the Council's ruling. He had a feeling that the Council had already decided to move, since they had ordered him to send his own guild members out to alert the guilds of the old Allied Forces, the guilds that had dealt with Oracion Seis: Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, and of course, Fairy Tail. Not only that, but there were new guilds to be included this time: Mermaid Heel, Quatro Cerberus, and his very own Sabertooth. He found it kind of ironic that the guilds that were picked for this coalition were all the top ranked guilds in the Grand Magic Games.

He growled at the sky. They could have at least spared an umbrella or two while they had to wait outside for the Council's "ruling."

Lillian looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "You should have a little more patience, you know." She smiled back up at the sky, letting the rain soak her from head to toe. "Life's too short to go around being impatient and angry all the time."

"Says the woman who just said she was going to make the earth quake if the Council didn't stop tearing her words apart", he muttered.

She burst out laughing. "That's because I'm still growing up, kid." She looked back down at Earthland with a wistful look in her eyes. She stayed quiet for a few more seconds before continuing on. "No one ever really grows up, Sting. There are very few things that actually change about you in your life. You get a little taller, you get a little stiffer, you get wrinkles. You come to know loss so well it's hardly a shock anymore, and maybe, just maybe, you're smart enough to learn how to love someone else and have a family. After that, perhaps you're smart enough to realize that you're only as wise as the baby in your arms. But you never really grow up, because life never stops. You can never say you know everything about anything."

Sting watched her quietly. Smirking, he said, "You must really be getting old, because you're starting to put me to sleep whenever you talk."

He got a hefty swat on the back of the head for that one. "Watch it", she growled, "Old or not, I can still beat you senseless if I had a mind to."

He was the one to laugh this time. "Yeah, I know. You're the only one I know who could ever put the fear of God into Master Jiemma."

"Damn straight." She frowned and kicked at a puddle lying at her feet. She went quiet after that.

"Excuse me."

Sting and Lillian both turned around. One of the frogs that were the Council's messengers was standing at the door, waiting for them. "The Magic Council Era has made a decision now. Please proceed into the chamber."

Lillian flashed one of her wicked grins at Sting. "I wonder", she muttered so that only Sting could hear her, "If I made a little earthquake right now, do you think that would shake the sticks out of their asses?" She lifted a foot, ready to bring it down.

Sting face-palmed. "Please...just don't." He was beginning to understand what she meant when she said people never really grow up.

They both followed the person (or frog - he really didn't know which one you could call it) into the chamber where they told Sting everything that he already knew. They were passing the motion to send a coalition of guilds to investigate the movements of Tartaros, blah, blah, blah. Lahar, along with Doranbolt, had expressed their wishes that the guilds keep everything in line. Which in other terms meant that everyone had to make sure that Fairy Tail didn't go overboard.

He had to hide a snort at that one. You might as well try to take on a hurricane head on.

Tomorrow, after every guild had been alerted, all the Masters would gather in one of Master Bob's mansions. Apparently, the guy had a million of them. And although Sting was anxious to get things started, the thought of meeting with Master Bob sent chills of terror down his spine. Not to mention that they wouldn't actually be starting their investigation either

The rest of the guild members that would be participating in the investigation would be waiting in another room while the guild Masters were discussing their movements as Lillian filled them in on the specifics.

He sighed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

_**(Tomorrow)**_

He was sitting in a comfy bright pink armchair, his legs splayed out and his head rolling back. His eyes were fluttering open and closed. He could see the high ceiling fading in and out of view. He probably would have fallen asleep already except for the fact that the bright colors of the room kept distracting him. His guild had been the second one to arrive at Master Bob's summer home. Shortly after that, Mermaid Heel and Lamia Scale arrived. From what he heard, each of them had brought what they considered to be their best members. Ichiya, along with Nichiya and those three playboys, Ren, Eve, and Hibiki, came with Master Bob of Blue Pegasus. Kagura, Millianna, and Risley came from Mermaid Heel. Lamia Scale brought their heaviest hitter, Jura, and then Lyon, Chelia, Sherry, and Yuka.

He had brought Rogue, Orga, Rufus, and Yukino, and of course Lector and Frosch. They were all sitting in the waiting room outside, probably chatting with the other guilds. _Rogue's gonna have to keep that Kagura off of Yukino though_, he thought sleepily.

The only person who had been allowed in besides the Guild Masters was Lillian, who was sitting at a table and was busy munching on as many cookies and cupcakes as Master Bob could bring her. He could hear the pudgy man complimenting Lillian on her so-called healthy appetite with vigor as she stuffed her face time after time. As long as he wasn't bothering him. Sting didn't have the energy right now to put up with anyone like Master Bob. He had hardly gotten any sleep at all last night, what with having to move in every direction all over Fiore to get the word out to the other guilds, and then having to come all the way over here to Bob's place. And now the one time he should be paying attention, he was nodding off.

He was about to drift away, when he heard the doors open. He peeled one eye open enough to see that Master Makarov had walked with Master Goldmine not far behind him. With a groan, he sat up.

"Lillian", he called to her. He waved at her, trying to get her attention away from the sweets. "Everyone's here now."

She looked, her cheeks as puffed up as a chipmunks with pink and brown crumbs everywhere over her face. "Oge, gif mah a mibud feer."

"Okay, then." He was too tired to even care that he didn't understand a single word she said.

He watched her struggle to swallow the huge amount of sweets she had stuffed in her cheeks. Master Bob handed her a glass of milk after which she took a big swig and swallowed.

"Thanks for that", she gasped. She stood up and brushed most of the crumbs off. "Shall we begin?"

"I think we should." Fairy Tail's Master had a serious look on his face, just like the rest of the Masters. After all, this was the biggest Dark Guild they were talking about here.

Lillian clapped her hands together. "Okay. The first thing I'm going to need is a light pen. Master Bob?"

"I got one right here, sweetie."

"Thanks." With the light pen in hand, Lillian started to draw. At first, she drew what looked like squiggles. But after a few minutes, the squiggles began to turn into a very recognizable shape. In a few more minutes, everyone was looking at a detailed map of Fiore. Next, Lillian began dotting parts of the map and drawing lines between them. Last of all, she created an outline that included most of Fiore, except for a mountain range and a couple stretches of coastline. She turned to look at everyone, her face as still as stone.

"I'm sure you've already heard of me, but I'll introduce myself anyway. I'm Lillian, a wizard of Sabertooth and a Dragon Slayer, the only one that's been in contact with the Dragons since seven years ago. I've been handling information on Tartaros solo for about twenty-some years. And I'm afraid I don't have much to show for it."

"But you have heard of their recent actions, right?" Goldmine asked.

"Just a bit." Lillian traced her finger around the outline. "I accidentally came across a map just like this while I was on one of my more idiotic rounds. They had this entire area marked out as a 'zone.'"

"A zone? For what?"

"Not sure. I didn't have time to find out. Like I said, it was one of my more idiotic rounds. They nearly caught me." She grinned sheepishly for a second and then went back to serious. "I guess that this could be war zone of some kind. It's the only thing that makes sense to me."

"So you're telling me that they plan to attack this whole region? That's almost all of Fiore!" Mermaid Heel's Master looked pale now.

"It is the most logical idea, though." Goldmine pointed at the map. "What I want to know is what all the dots are for."

"They're all the places where I've heard rumors of Tartaros' actions. I've investigated every single one of them and except for a lucky break every now and again, I've found jack-diddly-squat." She pointed at the lines. "I figured there was a reason for that."

"Like what?" Sting woke up a little, interested now.

"That the rumors are just that - rumors. After all the goose chases I went on, I started to believe that the tips I kept getting were all false leads. So I thought that instead of looking into places where I hear things, I figured why not look into places where I heard nothing?" She traced the lines and then pointed at everyone in the room in general. "That's where everyone here comes in. The lines are kind of like dividers for sectors. Each guild takes some and see what they can find. I least, I hope that's the plan." She waited until everyone nodded to continue. "I'm telling you now, it's going to take some serious luck to find anything. The only time I ever found anything good on Tartaros was when me and the Dragons had an inside source, but now that's gone."

Sting narrowed his eyes. This was the first time he was hearing this. "Who was your inside source?"

"Can't say", Lillian replied in a teasing voice. She had one of those fake innocent looks on her face. "Doesn't matter anyways. We lost our inside source a long time ago."

"The main point right now is discussing who is going to take each of these sectors", Goldmine growled. He was starting to pace restlessly.

"If I might make a suggestion", Master Bob pitched in, "I think we should pair guilds up to look in these sectors. These are very dangerous wizards we're talking about here."

"I agree." Mermaid Heel's Master nodded vigorously.

"Alright then, guess it's time to get down to the real work", Sting added in. And afterwards, he was going to take a nice long nap.

_**Lucy**_

"Oh no..." She watched the scene before her with growing unease. She held her hands tightly, wondering if she should start running.

All the guild members who were to come along on the investigation were all sitting in a waiting room that was lavishly decorated. The floor was white marble as were the pillars that were placed on the sides of the rooms. The walls were decorated with pink and yellow wallpaper and there were paintings of various people everywhere. One painting in particular was larger than the rest and depicted a blue Pegasus flying through the air.

She really hoped none of it got destroyed.

In the center of the room, Natsu and Gajeel were literally butting heads with Bacchus, Orga, Lyon, and Yuka. They were starting to threaten each other and now it looked like Gray and Erza might jump in. And if Erza came in, Kagura would step up, too. And if that happened, things might get really out of hand.

"Come on, guys, is this really necessary?", she whimpered from behind the pillar she had hid behind. Wendy was behind her, clinging to her waist. Both Happy and Carla were on her shoulders. _Where's Jura?_ The Wizard Saint was probably the only person who could get them under control right now, and yet he was mysteriously absent.

"That's enough!" Erza strode up to the group, her hands planted firmly on her hips. "We're supposed to be working together!"

"Like I want to work with these guys! I don't even want to be here with Gray!" Natsu pushed harder against Bacchus' forehead, his veins throbbing in his forehead.

"These bastards really piss me off!" Gajeel leaned forward too, almost pushing Natsu out of the circle.

This aggravated Natsu to no end, and he threw the first punch, or more like the first elbow, right into Gajeel's midsection. And just like that, the chain reaction was set off. Natsu ducked under Gajeel's counter, which landed straight into Lyon's face; Yuka sent off one of his waves as retaliation and ended up hitting Bacchus and Orga square in the side; Bacchus went straight after Natsu, who was currently tangled up with Gajeel and Gray; Orga went off against Yuka. And not only that, but Kagura and Erza were bringing out their swords.

"Lucy-san. What are we going to do?" Wendy was quaking, hiding her face in Lucy's back.

"I have no idea...", Lucy said, tears of fear streaming down her face and clutching the pillar much like how Wendy was clinging onto her. "I should have seen this coming...I really should have..."

"Aye..."

Thankfully, everyone else seemed to be interested only in watching. Millianna and Chelia were standing next to each other and watching the fight with delight and cheering on different people. Rogue and Rufus were looked as though they were just standing by in case Orga needed their help, while Yukino was keeping a safe distance behind the both of them. Sherry was clinging to Ren, while Hibiki, Eve, and Ichiya were just making a whole bunch of noise about parfum.

_Where's Jura?_

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" The Master's voice rang through the room so loud, it echoed several times.

Everyone froze. Lucy looked towards the entrance to the meeting room, where all the Masters stood. Fairy Tail's Master had grown to about ten times his size and was glaring at everyone furiously. Lucy could see the veins throbbing in his forehead. Then her eyes fell on Sting. He looked exhausted, though not as much as he had back in Hibiscus. He was wearing a very tight black shirt, with a coat that had the Sabertooth stamp on the arm. His blonde hair was all mussed up, making it more spiky and messy looking than she had ever seen it. Even so, he looked like he wanted to do nothing more than jump in with everyone else and just have at it.

"YOU BRATS SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF! WE'RE HERE ON IMPORTANT..."

As if he could tell she was staring at him, Sting looked right at her and after a second gave her a small smile. His face lit up in a way that made her heart skip a beat. She smiled back, trying to keep herself from blushing. _What's wrong with me? I hardly know the guy._

"...IF YOU SCREW THIS UP BEFORE WE EVEN BEGIN..."

She saw Sting roll his eyes. And then an older woman with dark hair. who looked like she wasn't even looking in Sting's direction, swatted him on the back of the head lightly.

"Now, to get back to the point." Master Makarov cleared his throat. "It seems that all guilds here have some serious investigating to do. You are all being sent off to certain areas in pairs just in case you come across a serious threat - "

"WHAT?!" Natsu broke out of Gajeel's headlock and removed his foot from Yuka's backside. "Why do we have to be in _pairs_?! Fairy Tail could do this on their own anyways!"

"BE QUIET!"

Natsu sat down and broke out in a cold sweat. "Yes, sir!"

"As I was saying, all the pairs will be sent out to assigned areas where we believe to be suspicious activity."

"And just what would that be?" Lyon pulled himself away from the group in the middle of the room and walked up to the Masters with his arms folded over his chest. "This suspicious activity that we're supposed to be looking for, what is it?"

"Basically...nothing."

"_What!?_"

"Don't say it like that", Master Ooba said, spinning her fingers around each other, "This is actually a very good lead, probably the best in years when it comes to Tartaros."

"So, who's paired up with who then?" Everyone went still at the question, looking both excited and wary at the idea of working with another guild.

"Ah, well then..."

And that decision, no matter how accidental or insignificant, had opened the door to a lot of events in Lucy's future, even of she wished ome of those doors had stayed closed.

**A/N: OH MY GOD, I'M SO SORRY THAT TOOK FOREVER, IT'S NOT EVEN THAT GOOD OF A CHAPTER! T-T I'M SOOORRRRRYYYYYYY! Well, the story is still moving forward...a bit. More foreshadowing cause I couldn't think of a good ending for this chapter...  
If you like it, you like it - if you don't, you don't. If you has comments or questions, post them in a PM or a review.**


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